What's wrong with terrorism / Robert E. Goodin.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 218-237) and index.

1. Introduction -- 2. Terrorism as unjust war : killing innocent civilians -- 3. Terrorism as a political tactic : intending to instil fear -- 4. States can be terrorists, too -- 5. Warnings can be terroristic, too : profiting politically from fear -- 6. Warnings bound to be misheard -- 7. Terrorizing democracy -- 8. Conclusions.

"Some see terrorism is an ideology, others claim it is a deep-seated social or psychological failing, others that it is a form of fighting unfairly judged by just-war standards. In this provocative new book, Robert Goodin puts forward the view that terrorism is, in fact, a deliberate tactic of frightening people for socio-political gain. Fear affects people's ability to reason clearly and undermines their capacity for autonomous self-government. In this way, Goodin contends that terror is not only the weapon of organizations such as al-Qaeda; is also benefits democratic politicians who profit from the climate of insecurity induced by terrorist threats and violence. Political figures conducting a campaign of fear as part of their war on terrorism may therefore be committing wrongs akin to those of terrorists themselves. This, Goodin argues, is what is distinctively wrong with terrorism in the contemporary world."--BOOK JACKET.

Machine converted from AACR2 source record.